Rate top gamesI have several positive things to say about this game. First of all, the scenery is sublime and the music is engaging. Naija, our heroine, is very endearing, and we really want to go on a journey with her. The concept of using songs during the fights and during exploration is also great. The only big negative I had with this game is THE END. Yes, Aquaria literally end on a "To be continued" and there will NEVER be a sequel! That gave me a very bitter taste. Still, I recommend the game for action adventure’s fans and having a heroine as the main character.
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Microsoft from French
Microsoft from French
Quite nice game by its atmosphere, its music, its 2D graphs worked and its intuitive gameplay.
A concern though: I find the action too rare and the ubiquitous exploration quickly becomes boring.
The decorations are (too) big and going from point a to point B can quickly take you more time than you would like.
If there was a condensed action and a decrease in unnecessary moves the game could really have been more catchy than right now.
In contradiction, the so-called rare phases of action are very bloody, nervous, and the fights against the bosses offer a certain challenge so everything is not to throw away.
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Microsoft from Swedish
Microsoft from Swedish
Aquaria a pretty game, to be sure - the graphics leave little to be desired, especially the animations of the various different creatures that inhabit the cavernous depths of the ocean. The voiceover work isn't terribly convincing, but that, too, is a minor quibble. I thought this game seemed promising in the extreme - the graphics look lovely in the stills and the mechanics appear both innovative and intuitive. Unfortunately, there's just not much "there" there. The story does not especially compel me to play further (thinking about it, I would actually perhaps attribute that to the lacklustre voice acting - at least in part), and the gameplay mechanics are competent but ultimately shallow. (The cooking mini-game is particularly guilty of this: no matter the ingredients I've mixed, all I've ever successfully managed to create is a sense of tedium and ennui in myself.)
In some ways, it seems that the developers have attempted to create something of a mixture of one of the earlier Legend of Zelda games alongside one of the Metroid games - the free-roaming style is there, as is the requirement to attain certain items (or, as the case may be, learn certain melodies) in order to advance into previously unreachable areas. Unfortunately, although that has been proven again and again to be a sound premise for a videogame, and although the visuals are quite lovely, the game pales in comparison to both its apparent inspirations. I tried very hard to enjoy its style of play, but more and more I'm viewing it less as a game and more as a particularly interactive and certainly gorgeous virtual aquarium ready for my very intermittent explorations - the story, the part of a game which would normally be the draw for me much more than visuals, audio, and on some occasions even gameplay, falls sadly flat in Aquaria, and I regret to say I do not see myself ever completing this game.